Device for circular knitting machines

ABSTRACT

A circular knitting machine pattern mechanism comprising a plurality of jacks each having one only intermediate jack between a selector jack and the needle. Cams operating the jacks have two notches, and a locking lever fits into one of the notches of each cam when in locking position.

Umted States Patent 1151 3,638,456

Dalmau Giiell 1 Feb. 1, 1972 [54] DEVICE FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING [56] References Cited MACHINES UNITED STATES PATENTS [721 Invent": Mari Balm" cue", Spain 2 067 877 1/1937 Lawson et a1 ..66/50 [73] Assignee: Jumberca, S.A., Barcelona, Spain 2,164,118 6/1939 McAdams ....66/50 3,006,174 10/1961 Haddad ..66/156 [22] Filed: Oct. 21, 1969 3,568,473 3/1971 Farmer ..66/50 B X [21] Appl. No.: 868,046 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 716,444 1/ 1942 Germany ..66/50 [30] Foreign Application Priority Data 1,230,961 12/1966 Germany ..66/50 B Oct. 31, 1968 Spain ..359,788 primary Examiner wi]|iam Caner Reynolds Oct. 24, 1968 Spam ..359,468 Attorney-P3110, Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson 52 US. (:1. ..66/50 R, 66/156 ABSTRACT [51] It'll. C1. ..D04b 15/68 A circular knitting machine pattern mechanism comprising a 1 Field of Search 50 36 36 B, plurality of jacks each having one only intermediate jack /4 20 between a selector jack and the needle. Cams operating the jacks have two notches, and a locking lever fits into one of the notches of each cam when in locking position.

3 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB 1:912

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v/ 7 W H figm A w 3 1* DEVICE FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES The present invention relates to a mechanism for circular knitting machines which facilitates needle selection and reduces the time required for this operation, as well as achieving a minimum of mistakes in positioning in comparison with the systems usually employed. At the same time this invention introduces improvements in the selection arrangements for these machines, designed to overcome the obstacles observed in knitting machines of this type, due to the fact that by increasing the number of spaces corresponding to the operative cycles of the needles, a notable reduction is caused in the time available within each space for the selective preparation phase to be performed by the jacks and associated elements, whereby the above preparation is hindered.

In those systems there are some boxes of sheetlike cams, situated around the machine, in which the cams are superimposed, are selected manually and held in place by a pin. The operative part which is to enter into relationship with the butts of the jacks for their operation extends exteriorly of the box.

This present invention provides another solution for the selecting and positional fixing of the above cams, characterized by the fact that the holding of the activating cams for the jacks operating the machine needles is achieved by way of notches cut into one edge of the controlling cams or tongues. These notches are suitable for engagement with a locking member, which member comprises an articulated lever with the front edge arranged for performing the above engagement after prior voluntary positional selection of each cam, in such a way that the above selection is performed by successive placing of each cam in the respective position, initiated from the end around which the locking member oscillates and with correlative engagement of the latter in the notches of successive cams until completion of their selection. At the,end of that operation, the aforementioned locking member reaches its stable position in which it is fixed in place in order to hold the cam assembly.

A further characteristic is that thin sheetlike spacers are placed between the difierent cams with a view to achieving an exact adjustment of the cam assembly, so that each cam will engage correctly with the butts of the jacks to be operated.

The front edge of the locking member may have a curved profile for better continuity of contact with the respective cams as they are selected, at the same time as said member oscillates to couple up with these cams.

The solution of the problem relating to the needle selection is based on creating an effect directed towards keeping to the selection to be established in each case, without altering, thereby, the space of time required by the normal development of the movements of the knitting needles.

In other known systems, the selection is retained by two or more jacks per needle, operating by lateral thrust. All of this creates factors which contribute towards an increase in the height of the mechanism and towards introducing a larger number of operative members. This new invention has been created specially to solve the above situation.

These improvements are characterized by the fact that the selective preparation phase for the control of the needle movements is performed through one single intermediate jack, situated between the selector jack and the relative needle, in such a way that the above-mentioned selective action is developed, for each operative cycle of the needle under consideration, within a space inherent in the preceding cycle, in such a way that the above-mentioned intermediate jack retains the established selection in order to transfer it to the needle in its cycle through a rocking movement, whereby the selective space is not limited within each cycle and has a sufficiently ample prior area for its development, whereby there is a notable reduction in the height of the area covered by the needle cylinder and the number of members operating in said area.

Other aims and characteristics of the invention will be explained in detail in the following description, with reference to the attached illustrative drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal elevation of part of a circular knitting machine showing an active phase of an intermediate jack arranged between a selector jack and a needle.

FIG. 2 is a similar view to the previous figure, showing an inactive period of the intermediate jack.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the combination of the above figures, seen from the back.

FIGS. 4 and 5 relate to a section of the previous figure across the line IV-lV, according to two inherent positions of the regulating cams.

FIG. 6 represents a front view of a detail of a support for cams fitted with slots for intermediate spacers.

FIG. 7 represents a series of cams and alternate spacers with the latter housed in the support slots.

FIG. 8 shows a cam with notches for the application of the locking member.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the engagement of the locking member in a series of cams.

FIG. 10 is a detail relating to the coupling area between the intermediate jacks and the control slots.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a cam area for the situation of the intermediate jacks.

FIG. 12 is a detail showing the cancelling action exerted on the intermediate jacks.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of the relationship between the width of one sheet and the range covered by a selector jack tooth over an arc of circumference.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the idea of the present invention, on the basis of achieving a minimum projection in the movement of the tooth of a jack between its limits.

In a circular knitting machine, the essentially operative members are the needles 1, the jacks 2 and the sheetlike cams 3 for operation of the aforementioned members.

The needles 1, fitted with hook 4 and butt 5 correspond with some intermediate parts 6 which enter the slot 7 of the sliding member 8 on which the butt 5 of the needles 1 rests. The jacks 2 have a rear butt 9 on which the intermediate part 6 rests and a front butt 10 which cooperates with the cams 3.

The cams 3, normally housed in a box for that purpose, are now covered by a fixed support 11 connected to an angle iron 12, fitted in turn on the body member 13 with the aid of screws 14 and 28.

The rotary part of the machine comprises the needles 1, jacks 2 and intermediate parts 6, all arranged in a needle cylinder 16. The cams 3, with their associated members, the body member 13 and the upper upright 17, form the fixed part of the machine.

Moreover, as a new member, a locking member or lever 20 is included, oscillating around the screw 21 fixed on support 11 and fixable thereto by way of a further hand operated screw 22.

Other members shown in the figures comprise springs 23 and 24 for supporting the jacks 2, a rear cover 25 for the cam enclosure 3, some screws 26 for controlling the height of the upright 17 through elongated holes 27 of the upright and further screws 28 for holding the angle iron 12.

Flat sheetlike spacers 32 are placed between the sheetlike cams or control tongues 3, with a view to controlling the exact separation between these cams for suitable correspondence with the butts 10 of the jacks 2, whereby correction is made of the defect of accumulation of errors caused by the cams 3 of normal machines. These spacers 32 are held in side slots 33 of the body member 11.

According to the invention, when selecting the cams 3 for a particular pattern, first of all a start is made with the one at the top of the assembly, with the lever 20 in the raised position so as not to hinder the operation. The first cam, like the rest, has a pair of notches 34 and 35, and is situated in such a way that one of these is facing the lever 20, after which this lever falls under gravity into the relative notch, whereby the cam is held in the pertinent operative position and the lever rests on the area 26 between both notches 34 and 35 (of the following cam).

Then proceed in a similar fashion with the second cam, facing one or other of the notches 34 or 35 with the locking lever which falls a little further under gravity to engage with the above-mentioned notch and hold this second cam in turn. The remaining cams 3 are situated and held successively until the lowest one is reached, after which, the lever 20 reaches the locking position where it is held by screw 22 and, therefore, immobilizes the cams.

In order to obtain a more regular and constant adaptation of the lever 20 to the cams 3, during the above-explained selection operation, the lever may have its front edge 37 bevelled or curved.

In order to cooperate in the above-mentioned engagement, it is necessary that the screw 21, around which the lever 20 oscillates, should be off center with respect to the cams 3.

Screw 22 holds the lever 20 by entering in a cutaway 38 of the lever.

There is a numbered scale 39 referring to each of the cams 3 for their localization.

Basically, each operative cycle of a needle in a circular knitting machine comprises selection, raising, lowering and cancellation of selection. Ordinarily, these actions are developed within each cycle, which offers no problem provided that the number of sections in the machine is relatively low. This is explained by the fact that if the available selection space is sufficiently large, the selection is performed without causing obstructions.

Nevertheless, when the above number of sections is large, the selection space is substantially reduced and this even arrives at a state of hindering the correct progress of the operations. The selector arrangement of the present invention is applied as a solution of this problem.

The behavior of the selector arrangement is as follows. In an inactive phase, as shown in FIG. 2, the selector jacks 2 are separated from the cams 3 and thus receive no impulse, while the intermediate jacks 6 have their rounded comer 29 resting against the cylinder 16 and hold their tooth 18 outside the slot 7.

Contrarily, as will be seen in FIG. 1, in an active phase, the selector jacks 2 rock and straighten up the intermediate jacks 6 which move to press against the cylinder 16 at the same time as their tooth l8 enters the slot 7 to control the needles 1 through their butt 5, and is applied against the upper inclined surface 42 of the cam 8.

Following the course of the intermediate jacks 6 in the slot 7, in the front view in FIG. 11, it is seen that during an operative cycle, these jacks 6 develop a selection preparation phase which comprises space A, an operative phase B and a further nonoperative phase C in which the cancellation profile 31 removes it from the slot 7. This cancellation action is exercised by the thrust that the profile 31 creates against the tooth 18 of the jack 6.

The above-mentioned selective phase A covers a larger space that reserved for one cycle in view of the fact that it comprises a zone of the previous cycle, whereby the said space allows a suitable development of the selective phase.

The function of the head 19 of the jack 2 consists of creating the lateral thrust on the intermediate jack 6 to put it into movement and that of the butt 9 is based on the fact that its stop 15 limits the descent of the jack 6 so that its tooth 18 faces up to the slot 7.

As indicated in FIG. 13, the cams 3 must have a width D equal to the width covered by the tooth 10 or a selector jack 2 when covering its stroke in an arc of a circumference; it not being suitable that this value D be exceeded so as to occupy the smallest possible space, rather it is of interest to reduce this value as far as possible, which is precisely the purpose of this present invention.

To achieve the purpose sought after, arrangements are made for the stroke of a tooth 10 to develop in an arc of circumference between a preselective rest point P and a selective point S, with the condition that the maximum value of the horizontal projection of the above stroke, that is, the art corresponding to the section MN, should fall on a vertrca axis OR on which the radius OM is included within the stroke PS.

Thereby, the width H of the projection is reduced to a minimum value which will be precisely the magnitude of width that a selector cam 3 must have to comprise the field of movement of the tooth 10 from point P to point S.

What I claim is:

1. In a circular knitting machine having a cylinder and needles mounted on said cylinder for performing knitting operations, a patterning mechanism comprising:

jack means mounted on said cylinder and cooperating with said needles for placing said needles in operative position, said jack means comprising a plurality of jacks each having a butt, cam means supported adjacent said cylinder for engaging said butts of said jacks, said cam means comprising a plurality of sheetlike cams stacked in superposed array and mounted for generally horizontal movement between extended and retracted positions, each of said cams having a pair of notches in a side edge portion thereof, and

cam locking means for sequentially entering into a vertically aligned row of said notches in said cams as said notches are moved into alignment and thus for locking said plurality of cams in a preselected pattern of extended and retracted positions, said cam locking means comprising a lever pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis adjacent one vertical extremity of said cam means for movement into a locking position extending vertically alongside said side edge portions of said cams and lever securing means for fixing said lever in its locking position.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said cammeans further comprises sheetlike spacers interleaved with said cams for adjusting the alignment of said cams with said butts.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said lever has an edge portion for entering into said notches and further wherein said lever edge portion has a rounded cross-sectional configuration. 

1. In a circular knitting machine having a cylinder and needles mounted on said cylinder for performing knitting operations, a patterning mechanism comprising: jack means mounted on said cylinder and cooperating with said needles for placing said needles in operative position, said jack means comprising a plurality of jacks each having a butt, cam means supported adjacent said cylinder for engaging said butts of said jacks, said cam means comprising a plurality of sheetlike cams stacked in superposed array and mounted for generally horizontal movement between extended and retracted positions, each of said cams having a pair of notches in a side edge portion thereof, and cam locking means for sequentially entering into a vertically aligned row of said notches in said cams as said notches are moved into alignment and thus for locking said plurality of cams in a preselected pattern of extended and retracted positions, said cam locking means comprising a lever pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis adjacent one vertical extremity of said cam means for movement into a locking position extending vertically alongside said side edge portions of said cams and lever securing means for fixing said lever in its locking position.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said cam means further comprises sheetlike spacers interleaved with said cams for adjusting the alignment of said cams with said butts.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said lever has an edge portion for entering into said notches and further wherein said lever edge portion has a rounded cross-sectional configuration. 